Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a bur

Question

Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a buried 4,000-year-old temple containing structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox. Since the local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants, the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

(A) The constellation known as the Fox has the same position at the summer solstice as it did 4,000 years ago.

(B) In the region around the temple, the summer solstice marks the time for planting.

(C) The temple was protected from looters by dirt and debris built up over thousands of years.

(D) Other structural alignments at the temple point to further constellations with agricultural significance.

(E) The site containing the temple was occupied for a significant amount of time before abandonment.

ID: 500326

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

The conclusion is that "the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox." How does the author arrive at that conclusion?

Archaeologists recently excavated a buried 4,000-year-old temple in the Andes Mountains. 
 The temple contains "structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice." - Don't worry if you don't understand the meaning of "solstice." Even without knowing the definition, we can infer that the author is referring to some specific time of the year. What's important is that the temple-makers were apparently aware of the sun's position at that specific time when they built those structures. 
 "Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox." - If the temple-makers constructed some structures related to the position of the sun at the summer solstice, then it would make sense that other structures in the temple are related to the summer solstice. Now we have some other structures pointing to the position of the Fox constellation at the summer solstice. This is  evidence  (not proof) that the temple-makers designed these structures with the Fox constellation's position in mind. 
 "Local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants." - The fox was obviously an importantly animal to the people of that culture.

So we have evidence that the temple-makers took the summer-solstice position of celestial bodies into account when designing the temple. Some temple structures point towards the position of the Fox constellation, and the fox was an important animal to those people. This  suggests  that "the ancient Andeans  may  have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox."

Notice that the conclusion contains the word may. The author is not trying to PROVE that the temple was built as a religious representation of the fox. The author is simply arguing that, based on the evidence cited in the passage, this may have been the case.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

The conclusion is based on the finding that the temple has alignments pointing towards the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation.

But this finding is based on the CURRENT alignments. The temple was built 4,000 years ago. What if the constellation has shifted over the course of the last 4,000 years? In that case, the alignment found by the archaeologists would be different than the alignment that existed when the Andeans built the temple. Thus, we would not be able to use the CURRENT alignment to make conclusions about the intentions of the Andeans 4,000 years ago.

Without this assumption, the evidence is clearly undermined, so hang on to (A).

This may or may not be true, but it is not a required assumption. The author argues that the temple was built to  represent  the fox. The author is not trying to argue that the temple served a specific agricultural function. Eliminate (B).

Sure, it is  possible  that looters moved some of the structures around, but that doesn't make this a  required  assumption. Even if looters had entered the temple and removed some objects, the structures referred to in the passage could still have their same positions. Eliminate (C).

If the temple structures point to no other constellations besides the Fox constellation, then it is reasonable to conclude that the temple may have been built to represent the fox. However, if the temple pointed to  multiple  constellations, then it is  less  likely that the temple was built to represent the fox in particular. In fact, (D) seems to suggest that the temple-makers were more concerned with agriculture in general than with the fox.

So (D) might weaken the argument. Regardless, it is certainly not a required assumption. Eliminate (D).

The amount of time that the temple was occupied is irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate (E).

(A) is the best answer.

GMATNinja · Answer

Awesome, nightblade354 ! I'll take a shot at this, too... but only because I wrote this two days ago and got distracted before hitting the "submit" button. Bad Ninja.

The conclusion is that "the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox." This conclusion is based on the finding that the temple has alignments pointing towards the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation. But this finding is based on the CURRENT alignments. The temple was built 4,000 years ago. What if the constellation has shifted over the course of the last 4,000 years? In that case, the alignment found by the archaeologists would be different than the alignment that existed when the Andeans built the temple. Thus, we would not be able to use the CURRENT alignment to make conclusions about the intentions of the Andeans 4,000 years ago. I hope that helps!

sobby · Answer

Based on the position of constellation now, the argument is making a conclusion that andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox ..but to make this prediction one need to be sure of whether the position of constellation was same 4000 yrs ago as it is now ....This pre-thinking leads to A as answer .

SidJainGMAT · Answer

Hello Verbal Experts,

Could you please explain this question in detail why A is correct and why other options are wrong?

Thanks.

nightblade354 · Answer

Hi  snjainpune ,

I'd be happy to clarify this question for you. The answer, simply, is negation, which is turning the answer into its opposite form. If the new answer destroys the argument, this is your answer for the question.

Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a buried 4,000-year-old temple containing structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox.  Since the local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants ,  the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.
 
 -- The blue is a premise, which builds up to the green, our conclusion.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

(A) The constellation known as the Fox has the same position at the summer solstice as it did 4,000 years ago. --  The constellation known as the Fox  does not have  the same position at the summer solstice as it did 4,000 years ago 
(B) In the region around the temple, the summer solstice marks the time for planting. --  In the region around the temple, the summer solstice  does not  marks the time for planting 
(C) The temple was protected from looters by dirt and debris built up over thousands of years. --  The temple was  not  protected from looters by dirt and debris built up over thousands of years. 
(D) Other structural alignments at the temple point to further constellations with agricultural significance. --  Other structural alignments at the temple  do not  point to further constellations with agricultural significance 
(E) The site containing the temple was occupied for a significant amount of time before abandonment. The site containing the temple was  not  occupied for a significant amount of time before abandonment

Based on our conclusion, "the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.", which one of the above destroys this argument? Option A! This says the temple may have been built for a different system, but is now pointed towards the fox. The rest of the options are, fortunately, out of scope and can thus be eliminated. Does this help?

KarishmaB · Answer

Premises:
Archaeologists excavated an old temple containing structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox.
Local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants

Conclusion: the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.

(A) The constellation known as the Fox has the same position at the summer solstice as it did 4,000 years ago.

This is certainly an assumption of the argument. If the Fox does not have the same position as it did 4,000 years ago, the entire argument falls apart. Then the alignments would be pointing to something else or they wouldn't be alignments pointing to something. Then the point of representation of the fox does not arise.

(B) In the region around the temple, the summer solstice marks the time for planting.

The importance of summer solstice is not discussed and is irrelevant.

(C) The temple was protected from looters by dirt and debris built up over thousands of years.

Dirt and looters are irrelevant to the argument.

(D) Other structural alignments at the temple point to further constellations with agricultural significance.

Not an assumption. Doesn't matter what the other alignments point to.

(E) The site containing the temple was occupied for a significant amount of time before abandonment.

Again, not an assumption. Even if it were not occupied, it doesn't break out argument.

Answer (A)

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Official answer:

Argument Construction

Situation  A recently excavated 4,000-year-old temple contains structures that point toward the positions at the summer solstice of both the rising sun and a constellation known in local culture as the Fox. Local mythology represents the Fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants.

Reasoning  What must be true in order for the argument's premises to suggest that the temple was built to religiously represent the fox? The argument's premises are all observations about current conditions: the current alignment at the summer solstice of the temple relative to the sunrise and to the constellation known as the Fox, the current local name for a constellation, and current local mythology. To support the conclusion about the temple's original purpose, the argument has to assume that all these conditions may still be essentially the same as they were 4,000 years ago when the temple was built.

Option A is Correct.  If the constellation's position at the summer solstice relative to the temple is different from what it was 4,000 years ago, the temple must not have been aligned to point toward it when it was built. In that case, the argument's justification for associating the temple with that constellation and with the fox is undermined.

Why are B to E wrong?

B - This does not have to be assumed for the argument to succeed, though if true, it might strengthen the argument by providing additional evidence associating the temple with the mythological fox as a teacher of agriculture. But the argument could be just as strong if the solstice were instead associated with agricultural activities other than planting.

C - Even if the temple was not protected from looters, the conditions described in the argument's premises may still be the same as they were 4,000 years ago.

D - This is not assumed. Additional structural alignments pointing to different constellations associated with mythological beings other than the fox might weaken or even undermine the argument's justification for associating the temple with the fox specifically.

E - The argument makes no assumption regarding how long the temple was occupied, or even regarding whether the temple was ever occupied.

jabhatta2 · Answer

VeritasKarishma   GMATNinja

Conclusion : Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.
Premise : Structures (within the Temple) align with the position of the fox constellation during the summer solstice

One way i thought to destroy the argument was to confirm -- if the temple was used for any other purpose (other than representing the fox constellation) ? -- Were there other objects / structures pointing towards other constellations ?

Because if there were other structures pointing towards other constellations or other stars as well -- then the conclusion breaks as the conclusion is all about declaring the temple as a representation of the "Fox" only

Enter option C...if negated

-- If the temple was not protected by robbers -- and items have been looted -- then the looters may taken objects of relevance / may have taken objects that align with other constellations other than the fox

Hence i thought -- this destroyed the argument

Thoughts ?

KarishmaB · Answer

The conclusion doesn't say that it was built for no other purpose. Perhaps it had some other purposes too. In fact, the argument says that it has structures pointing towards the rising sun too. We have to figure out whether it was built as a religious representation of the Fox or not. Option (C) doesn't help in that but option (A) is needed. If Fox's position was different 4000 yrs ago, the temple was not built to point toward it.

GMATNinja · Answer

Take another look at (C):
 
(C) specifies  exactly  how the temple was protected from looters -- by a buildup of dirt and debris. Does that HAVE to be true in order for the argument to be valid?

Not necessarily -- maybe the temple was protected in some other way (snake pits? pressure-triggered booby traps? massive rolling boulders?). Because the argument doesn't depend the temple being protected  specifically  by dirt and debris, we can't say that the argument is based on the information in (C).

I hope that helps!

ArathyA · Answer

Passage Analysis 
• Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a buried 4,000-year-old temple 
  o An ancient temple is recently unearthed from the Andes Mountains by archaeologists.
o The temple is estimated to be 4000-year-old.  
•containing structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. 
  o The unearthed temple consists of a number of structures which are geometrically in line with a stone carving on a hill far away.
o This alignment represents the direction where the sun rises on the day of summer solstice.  
• Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox. 
  o The alignments in the temple were observed to lead to a point in the sky.
o This point is where a constellation known as the Fox in Andean culture is placed at summer solstice.  
• Since the local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants, 
  o A cause and effect are presented. Local mythology says the fox taught people agriculture.  
• the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.
  o Therefore, it is possible that the Andeans 4000 years ago built this temple to manifest the fox religiously.
  
 Conclusion: The ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.

Question Stem Analysis 
This question asks us to identify the assumption on which the argument is made.
Pre-thinking  
 Falsification Question 
In what scenario is it possible that the ancient Andeans may not have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox?
Given that
 • The temple is 4000 years old.
• It contains structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. 
• Alignments in the temple pointed toward the position of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox, at the summer solstice.
• The local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants.

Thought Process 
The author talks about an ancient temple which is excavated from the Andean mountains, and the structural alignments that links the temple with the summer solstice and the constellation called the fox in the Andean culture. The author thinks that since the fox is said to have taught humans to cultivate and irrigate plants in the local mythology, the temple possibly is meant to religiously represent the fox. This conclusion is dependent on the existence of three factors 4000 years ago-the position of the constellation in alignment with the temple, the constellation’s cultural association with the fox, and the relevance of the fox in local mythology.

Falsification condition#1 
What if the constellation has changed its position in the sky over 4000 years? In other words, what if the Fox constellation was not in alignment to the temple 4000 years ago? In that case the facts hold, but the conclusion breaks down.
 Assumption#1 
The Fox constellation was in alignment with the temple 4000 years ago.

Falsification condition#2 
What if the ancient Andean people who lived 4000 years ago did not link the constellation to the fox? Here also the facts remain intact, but the conclusion cannot hold.
 Assumption#2 
The link between the constellation in alignment with the temple and the fox was present in Andean culture 4000 years ago.

Falsification condition #3 
Imagine the fox did not have any divine associations in the Andean culture 4000 years ago. Then there is no point in connecting the temple with the fox. This will break down the conclusion.
 Assumption#3 
The fox had divine associations, which may or may not be associated with agriculture, in the Andean culture 4000 years ago.

Answer Choice Analysis 
(A) The constellation known as the Fox has the same position at the summer solstice as it did 4,000 years ago.
 CORRECT 
This statement is in line with our assumption 1 and therefore the right answer.

(B) In the region around the temple, the summer solstice marks the time for planting.
 INCORRECT 
This statement need not be true for the argument to hold. Hence this cannot be the correct answer.

(C) The temple was protected from looters by dirt and debris built up over thousands of years.
 INCORRECT 
This is completely out of the context of the argument. Hence, this cannot be the correct answer.

(D) Other structural alignments at the temple point to further constellations with agricultural significance.
 INCORRECT 
This additional information does not support the conclusion. Therefore, it cannot be the correct choice.

(E) The site containing the temple was occupied for a significant amount of time before abandonment.
 INCORRECT 
This piece of additional information is not necessary for the conclusion to be right. Therefore, this cannot be the correct answer.

Sneha2021 · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB 
Why D is incorrect?

Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a buried 4,000-year-old temple containing structures that align with a stone carving on a distant hill to indicate the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. Alignments in the temple were also found to point toward the position, at the summer solstice, of a constellation known in Andean culture as the Fox. Since the local mythology represents the fox as teaching people how to cultivate and irrigate plants, the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox.

(D) Other structural alignments at the temple point to further constellations with agricultural significance.

The main conclusion is the reason to build temple - the ancient Andeans may have built the temple as a religious representation of the fox and the fox has some significance (it represents as teaching people how to irrigate plants)

Other structural alignments points towards constellation with agricultural significance and since fox also has some agricultural significance (how to irrigate plants), this statement does strengthen the conclusion that temple may be have built as a religious representation of fox.
Negation - Other structural alignment doesn't point to constellation with agricultural significance, my belief in the conclusion decreases bcz the reason for building temple might be different now (no religious angle)

Can you please help to identify where I went wrong?

GMATNinja · Answer

The question asks for "an assumption on which the argument is based," NOT for a something that strengthens the conclusion, as you've mentioned in your analysis.

Does (D) strengthen the argument? Actually, it really doesn't -- if the temple pointed to multiple constellations, then it is  less  likely that the temple was built to represent the fox in particular.

Even if you really stretch your imagination and say that these other constellations hint that the temple has an agricultural theme and dismiss the lack of a connection to the fox, all you've argued is that (D) provides some weak support for the conclusion. (And again, the conclusion is about the fox in particular, so we're really on thin ice here).

This interpretation doesn't meet the criteria "an assumption on which the argument is based" -- which is a kind of assumption is something that absolutely MUST be true in order for the author's argument to hold up.

(D) doesn't HAVE to be true for the author's argument to hold up. Maybe there are other constellations involved, and maybe not -- either way, it's possible that the temple was built as a representation of the fox. Eliminate (D).

(A), by contrast, DOES need to be true -- the author's whole argument is based on the temple's alignment to the Fox constellation, so we NEED to assume that this alignment was the same when the temple was built.

(A) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!

Elite097 · Answer

1.  GMATNinja   KarishmaB   MartyTargetTestPrep   ThatDudeKnows   GMATIntensive  why is choice B Correct? I cannot figure why this need not be assumed. We know that planting is associated with Fox and hence the temple could be a representation of Fox.

2. Also wording in sentence 2 is not clear. What does 'to indicate' modify? Does it mean it was excavated to indicate that the temple points to the sun or some othe rreason? Also did not get the relation to the distant hill- why does that matter and why is it presented?

ThatDudeKnows · Answer

1. Would your logic not hold even if the summer solstice is the time for harvesting? How does the argument assume that the summer solstice is the time for planting?

2. The distant hill is where the stone carving is that indicates the direction of the rising sun at the summer solstice. I don't think any confusion you may have had about the sentence structure would have impacted how you'd think through this question or offer much actionable insight to use on other questions, so I wouldn't sweat it.

Elite097 · Answer

1. No because the passage is about Fox being associated with teaching about how to irrigate and cultivate plants
2. Well the meaning is not clear. It does not seem to indicate that the distant hill pointed towards the sun, rather it seems that the temple was excavated to indicate the direction of the rising sun and that hthis temple had carving similar to the distant hill. Again though, I do not understand what is the purpose of the distant hill being introduced here? Also I do not undertand why you think the stone carving is at the distant hill to indicate position of the sun, and NOT ON THE TEMPLE  ThatDudeKnows

ThatDudeKnows · Answer

Cultivating and irrigating involves a lot more than only planting. How did we narrow the scope from the entirety of cultivation and irrigation to be solely about planting time?

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Great explanation by  GMATNinja  as always!

Can someone please explain why Charles is stressing to notice "may" here? I am not able to make out any difference had it been the case in which author is trying to PROVE. How can it potentially change our answer choice  in general , and in this example?

GMATNinja · Answer

I'm glad that you found the explanation helpful!

As for the word "may": for this particular question, it might not have that much of an impact on your analysis of the answer choices.

However, there's no way of knowing that until you have already worked through the question -- it's very likely that modifiers like this DO become extremely important as you work through the answer choices. So, it's key to note modifiers and deeply understand the argument  exactly  as it's written.

For more on the importance of modifiers, check out  this  article.

I hope that helps a bit!

Archaeologists working in the Andes Mountains recently excavated a bur

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